Zero Transgender Characters Appeared In 2019 Major Studio Films

posted by Hayden Brooks -
May 23, 2019

As per GLAAD's 2019 Studio Responsibility Index (SRI), which examines and quantifies the LGBTQ representation in major studio films, Hollywood has failed us with the lack of transgender characters in major studio films from 2018.

In the report, which initially kicked off in 2012, GLAAD took a look at 110 big budget films and not one of them included a trans or gender non conforming character. Unfortunately, it's a trend that the organization has noticed for two years in a row. "In the year that saw the groundbreaking television series Pose put a multitude of trans stories front and center and trans creators behind the scenes, Supergirl introduced America to TV’s first trans superhero, and A Fantastic Woman took home an Oscar; there were still no transgender characters in any major studio film," the report said. Later in the SRI, GLAAD encouraged the industry to not pass up "an incredible opportunity for entertainment media to be a leader in this space by sharing and uplifting the stories of trans people."

On the positive side, the results of the examination found that there was an increase in LGBTQ representation on-screen after hitting an all-time low in 2017. Of the 110 major films, 18.2 percent of them featured inclusion for the community, jumping up 5.4 percent from the 12.8 percent score in 2017.

"Outstanding stories with nuanced LGBTQ characters at the center like GLAAD Media Award nominees Love, Simon, The Girl in the Spider’s Web and Blockers should serve as examples for studios," GLAAD president Sarah Kate Ellis said in the note. "These protagonists have agency and development of their own stories; none of them serves as a punchline or a prop for another character’s growth. But it also matters who is being included in stories."

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